


Social Grooming

by AyumiFallassion



Category: Saiyuki
Genre: Gen, Kougaiji has pet ferrets, cross posted on tumblr, implied sailor moon hair, my youkai can purr, or at least mine does, slice of cute, social bonding, world building
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-06
Updated: 2019-07-06
Packaged: 2020-06-22 17:09:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19674622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AyumiFallassion/pseuds/AyumiFallassion
Summary: A moment of quiet in India, and in the end, Kougaiji loves his little sister.





	Social Grooming

Yaone held back a giggle as she peeked around the door, rumbles filling the air. Lirin was in another of her needy moods, and Kougaiji was more than willing to indulge his little sister. In this case, she had tackled him to the bed, wielding a steel-reinforced hairbrush. Said brush has instilled fear in the hearts of Dokugakuji and Yaone, but judging by the rough purrs echoing through the room, their Prince didn’t care a wit over the strange hair styles his sister was placing in his red locks. 

The scene brought a smile to her face even as a an old scroll she’d read as a trainee healer unfolded in her mind.

“Your average adult Youkai will stand anywhere between 6-8 feet, with claws, fangs, and a tribal mark that will denominate their family line. Over the course of millennia, they have overcome their instincts, becoming civilized people instead of feral predators. However, some of those instincts still hold thrall over their behavior. 

One such behavior is social grooming. Feral youkai would congregate together in family groups, preening one another with claws and growls, strengthening family ties and acting as a warning to outsiders to stay away from the clan. 

Even modern youkai will indulge from time to time, though hair brushes are used carefully as the mane in notably stronger than human hair and can break the brush in an unwary hand.”

The scene before her was adorable, Kougaiji resting his chin on folded arms, his sister sitting on his back as she tried to force his hair to stay in the strange pair of buns on the side of his head. His furry little pets were cavorting around them, trying to steal the brush, a pile of leather hair ties in the corner a testimony to their previous successes. The only time the older youkai offered any resistance was when Lirin accidentally pulled too hard, purr rasping up into a low snarl, his sister immediately letting go as if he’d reached up and grabbed her by the scruff. But her prince was obviously enjoying the attention as much as the little princess was enjoying the time together. 

Yaone would be just as happy to not share in the experience. Not that she wouldn’t enjoy the bonding, but protective big brother would snap her head off if she so much as growled at the smallest youkai. So she inched away, closing the door and leaving the pair alone, heading to her own chambers. 

After all, she’d need her own brush if she was going to back Dokugakuji into a corner.

**Author's Note:**

> Why do I get fic ideas while at work? 
> 
> This is inspired by a few things. One being that any large predator is gonna have certain instincts to go with those claws. Another is that siblings will be siblings, and the eldest have either love it or learn to roll with it. 
> 
> The ferrets are all from my own Kougaiji (Love ya @Yastach!)


End file.
